Networking in person

Is everyone out there on LinkedIn? Facebook? Twitter?

What about Digg? MySpace? Friendster? Squidoo?

Should I go on? After all, there are more. Lots more. Did I mention Lots? Lots.

There are some tremendous advantages to being connected through on-line social media. Being able to keep in touch with people who you may not see on a regular basis makes it easy to stay connected and know what’s going on.

You get so much more done face-to-face. Conversations are more efficient, non-verbals make things more clear (and human) and it’s just plain true that people still put more value into real life human contact than they put into words on a Tweet.

Chances are that your town has some great real-life networking opportunities. Chamber of Commerce, Rotary, and a plethora of specialty clubs (PMI, Toastmasters, etc.) make it easy to stay in touch and really get to know some great people.

Don’t spend so many hours on-line that you don’t have time for real humans. Take the time to see what’s out there and make the commitment to get involved. The value will far outweigh the cost in time and a few bucks.

P.S. That’s the best way to make new friends to add to your LinkedIn account…